Marlena Hartz : Freedom Newspapers An American flag hangs year-round outside Lt. Col. Judy Griego’s childhood home. The man who hung it is her father, a veteran of World War II. He detonated mines buried deep in ocean beds to spare other seamen from unexpected blasts. She is now an Albuquerque-based member of the Air […]

Leslie Spence: PNT Staff Writer With 2005 coming to a close, many local residents are entering the new year with promises of change. At the beginning of each year, Americans think of resolutions to make the new year better than the one before. Clovis and Portales residents are no different. Lose Weight According to the […]

Compiled By Karl Terry During the winter months a safe bet for a daytrip is always a museum, and one of the biggest and best is the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum on the campus of West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas. The museum’s Web site bills the institution as the largest history museum in […]

By Dave Wagner CLOVIS — The Portales Lady Rams have knocked off one Class 5A giant, and now another one waits. Senior post Morgan Hill scored 12 points and managed to get 6-foot-7 Gallup senior Valerie Kast out of the game on fouls, and the Lady Rams advanced to the finals of Clovis’ Plateau Holiday […]

Tony Parra: PNT Staff Writer Portales’ downtown district is getting a facelift, one building at a time, thanks to a new grant program targeting small downtown businesses. The Portales MainStreet Organization members with the help of Portales city officials have awarded three grants totaling $5,000 for facade improvements to downtown businesses. Debi Lee, city manager, […]

By Dave Wagner With his team striving to get back to the .500 mark and Lone Star Conference South Division play on the horizon, Eastern New Mexico University men’s basketball coach Shawn Scanlan isn’t about to take any opponent for granted — even a winless one. He knows despite an 0-10 record, Oklahoma Panhandle State […]

Andy Jackson: Freedom Newspapers The murder trial of three brothers charged in connection with a 10-year-old boy’s death will be postponed so that attorneys can receive and review forensic evidence. Prosecutor Andrea Reeb asked District Court Judge Joe Parker to push back the trial that had been scheduled for next month to at least May. […]

Editor’s note: The following is a brief look at the stories that made news locally in 2005. The PNT will run the year-in-review in each of the coming issues through Jan. 1. Sept. 1 • Miller trial set — The trial of Shawn Miller, 33, is set for Jan. 27 who is accused of disorderly […]

Andy Jackson: Freedom Newspapers Clovis dentist James Smith was indicted by a grand jury Thursday for the murder, rape and kidnapping of Laura McNaughton and for three counts of tampering with evidence, according to a release from 9th Judicial District Attorney Matt Chandler. Chandler said he will make a decision in 90 days on whether […]

The Associated Press CLOVIS — The fatal shooting of a black man at a motel parking lot in Clovis might have been racially motivated, a prosecutor says. The white man accused of the slaying is nicknamed “Lynching Lloyd,” District Attorney Matt Chandler said. Jimmy Bentley, 71, of Farmington, was arraigned Wednesday on an open count […]

Helena Rodriguez : Freedom Newspapers I’m waiting a week to reveal my New Year’s resolutions for two reasons. • I need to make sure they don’t fall apart by next week. • There’s a more pressing matter: dirty dishes. Dirty dishes are a critical issue. In fact, there’s probably some dirty dishes sitting in your […]

Freedom Newspapers The United States is often portrayed as an ecological villain for declining to sign the fabled Kyoto treaty on climate change and greenhouse gases. But a British think tank reports that Britain and Sweden are the only countries in Europe that have met their commitment under the treaty to cut their emissions of […]

KIJN sponsors Spanish concert KIJN Christian radio of Farwell will stage a New Year’s Spanish Christian concert featuring three area bands at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday at St. Helen’s Catholic Church. Mike Rodriguez, general manager of KIJN said, “ What this is is Christian outreach. I would encourage people to attend that are not Catholic, […]

Joan Clayton: Religion Columnist We have a brand New Year upon us. It has not been lived before. Make each day a masterpiece. Live it to the fullest. Know: “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). You can become a brand new creature, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is […]

PNT Staff Report LAS VEGAS, N.M. — Patience is a virtue — especially when your opponent knows your every move. The Portales Rams stayed patient and came away with a 42-33 victory over the Taos Tigers here at the Stu Clark Invitational Thursday. The win puts them in the consolation final at 2:30 p.m. today […]

Dave Wagner: Freedom Newspapers As easy as their first-round game turned out to be, the Portales Lady Rams know the rest of Plateau Holiday Classic will be more challenging. Portales spotted El Paso Ysleta leads of 5-0 and 8-6, then controlled the rest of the contest in cruising to a 56-16 win in the tournament’s […]

PNT Staff Report LAS VEGAS, NM — The Portales Rams took it all the way into the final seconds with a tough 5-A opponent Wednesday and came up one shot short. They fell in the opening round of the Stu Clark Invitational Tournament to Santa Fe High School by a score of 53-52. Portales never […]

Year in Review Editor’s note: The following is a brief look at the stories that made news locally in 2005. The PNT will run the year-in-review in each of the coming issues through at least Jan. 1. July 1 • Schools work on test performance — The Portales school system took further steps to better […]

Marlena Hartz : Freedom Newspapers A high-ranking Air Force official is to visit the region next week, according to Air Force officials. Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Logistics William Anderson will tour Cannon and the surrounding area on Jan. 4, said Air Force spokeswoman Shirley Curry. It will be his […]

Tony Parra: PNT Staff Writer The new Roosevelt County Youth Shelter should be complete in January, filling what some say is a dire need, for a place to house displaced children and teens. The Teambuilders counselors will use the shelter as a place to help Roosevelt County youth with any problems they may have. Teambuilders, […]